Tornado Cash Co-Founder Roman Storm Set for Trial in December

Following the denial of his motion to dismiss the charges by a New York judge on September 27, Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm is set to stand trial in December for allegations of money laundering and violations of sanctions, a ruling that has drawn criticism from various individuals within the cryptocurrency community.

Tornado Cash Founder Roman Storm Will Face Trial

Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York dismissed Storm’s bid to have the charges dropped, asserting that his position as a developer did not exempt him from accountability for the blockchain-related offenses linked to Tornado Cash.

Storm’s defense team argued that he was solely a developer and should not be held liable for the actions of the platform, which functioned as a decentralized financial service.

Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm could face up to 45 years if found guilty on all counts!
Judge Failla is not showing leniency, stating that the DOJ’s case is robust.
Indeed—being a crypto developer is not for the faint-hearted these days! #TornadoCash

— Professor Crypto (@profcryptotalks) September 27, 2024

“This court cannot accept Mr. Storm’s assertion that he is being prosecuted solely for writing code,” Judge Failla remarked during her ruling.

This case arises from an indictment issued in August 2023, which claims that Tornado Cash facilitated $1 billion in money laundering activities, including hundreds of millions of dollars laundered for North Korea’s state-sponsored hacking group, the Lazarus Group.

The group is infamous for its extensive attacks on the digital asset industry, with the stolen funds being utilized to support North Korea’s ballistic missile initiatives.

Together with fellow Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Semenov, Storm also faces a charge of conspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmitting operation. If found guilty, Storm could be sentenced to a maximum of 45 years in prison.

“While publicly asserting that they provide a technically advanced privacy service, Storm and Semenov were aware that they were assisting hackers and fraudsters in hiding the proceeds of their illegal activities,” stated U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

“When it became evident that a sanctioned North Korean cybercrime group was using the platform to launder hundreds of millions of dollars obtained from cyber thefts, Storm and Semenov ignored the illegal activities and made public claims that they were adhering to sanctions regulations,” added FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith.

Roman Storm Case Draws Criticism from Crypto Community

The decision to move forward with the Tornado Cash trial has faced backlash from members of the cryptocurrency sector. Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at the crypto venture capital firm Variant, criticized Failla’s ruling on X.

“Judge Failla’s decision to deny @rstormsf’s motion to dismiss the indictment is an attack on the freedom of software developers everywhere,” Chervinsky stated. “This will be remembered as a distortion of law and a miscarriage of justice.”

Others within the crypto legal community shared similar views. Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer at the DeFi Education Fund, also expressed her concerns on social media, citing several remarks from the New York judge that may be unsettling to members of the crypto community.

In the US v. Storm (Tornado Cash) hearing just now, the court dismissed the arguments in Storm’s motion to dismiss as a matter of law and significantly deferred what she identified as factual issues for trial (“To the extent Storm is asking me to decide a controverted issue of fact, I am not… https://t.co/enpBby3Gue

— Amanda Tuminelli (@amandatums) September 26, 2024

Set for December 2 in New York, Roman Storm’s trial is expected to attract the interest of both legal professionals and cryptocurrency supporters due to its potential implications for regulations.

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